OHIO: The author of a bill to weaken Ohio’s energy law says he’s rewriting it to eliminate some of the more controversial provisions. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
WIND: How one man could be holding back wind development in Nebraska, and Duke Energy will pay $1 million for eagle deaths at two Wyoming wind farms. (Midwest Energy News, Associated Press)
***SPONSORED LINK: Register today for the Midwest’s largest energy efficiency event, the Midwest Energy Solutions Conference, taking place January 14-16 in Chicago. Use Code MWEN25off for $25 off just for Midwest Energy News readers.***
FRAC SAND: “The sand sharks are circling,” says one opponent, as frac sand mining operations move forward near a popular Illinois state park. (Chicago Tribune)
FRACKING: A report finds the drilling industry has increased contributions to Congressional campaigns 180 percent between 2004 and 2012. (Houston Chronicle)
OIL: Pollution from Bakken oil production starts to migrate into wetlands, families are abandoning an Arkansas neighborhood impacted by a pipeline spill, and North Dakota tries to figure out what to do with radioactive waste from drilling operations. (EnergyWire, InsideClimate News, Fargo Forum)
CLIMATE: International climate negotiators in Warsaw reached an agreement over the weekend, which one advocate describes as “just enough to keep things moving.” (The Hill)
COAL: Ontario’s premier vows to ban coal-fired electricity in the province. (Financial Post)
ETHANOL: Iowa governor Terry Branstad says the EPA’s proposal to lower the renewable fuel mandate amounts to a “war on corn“, and ethanol makers look to increase exports to create new markets for their fuel. (Cedar Rapids Gazette, Minneapolis Star Tribune)
SOLAR: Solar panels provide a teaching tool at a Michigan high school, and a rural Minnesota co-op offers up shares in a community solar project. (Livingston Daily Press, WDAY)
NATURAL GAS: Why natural gas is “a perfect marriage” for renewable power. (National Journal)
TRANSMISSION: At another Iowa hearing on a proposed transmission line, perennial questions arise. (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)
COMMENTARY: Are electric vehicles reaching a tipping point? (NRDC Switchboard)
CORRECTION: An item in Friday’s digest overstated Iberdrola’s reaction to Ohio SB 58. The company said it would reconsider proposed wind farm projects, not pull out of the state entirely.